This is my owl

I've been following Claire from craft shmaft for the last couple of months. I love her blog and love her creative little sock creatures.

She's been working REALLY hard to get her etsy store up and running and once she did I couldn't wait to put my order in...

Here is my Toot Oliver....




Now he isn't as fancy as the one's I've seen other people, like Gina making and by no means is he perfect but I love him and am very much looking forward to giving him a brother or sister owl soon.

fifteen melbourne

In anticipation of tonight's trip to Horoki with bestie K, I realised that I hadn't posted anything about our little trip to fifteen a few rainy saturdays ago!

K and I are pop culture queens - well trashbags really. In honor of our wonderful US trip, we've been thinking of iconic (of sorts) things to do in Melbourne, one of them was visiting Jamie Oliver's fifteen restaurant!

After looking up the prices of the website, I realised it would be quite do-able - so off we went for a girls day out in rainy Melbourne town.


It's a nicely set out place with a big bar area and two seperate dining rooms, but it is the sort of entrance which requires you to be seated straight away; otherwise (as we were) you're just standing their awkwardly! The strangest thing though whilst standing in the doorway was the the confusion between the maitre d and a waiter. Neither seemed quite sure who would escort us to our table. We ended up with the less certain waiter, who took us into the dark room and showed us to a seat near the doorway - I feel that if you've reserved a table you should be given a good table - preferably in the light room away from walking traffic; but maybe that's just me!


Anyway after sitting at a table further from the door, we set out to peruse the menu, which was very exciting!
We decided to go for the express lunch which includes two courses and a glass of house wine.

K decided to start with the Ribollita cannellini bean soup, while I opted for the Fantastic panzanella salad of olives, baby tomatoes, capers, celery, herbs, Mt. Zero red wine vinegar and toasted ciabatta.

I, with my lovely glass of margaret river sav blanc and Kate with her red, were quite hungry. It took a while for the bread to come around, which we thought was odd because there really weren't that many people around. Our starters came, both were well presented and of good size. K, however was quite put off by the 1/2 cup 'drizzle' of olive oil sitting on top the soup. I did really enjoy my salad - a creative interpretation of everyday ingredients, certainly the high quality helped, but everything about the salad was delicate and intentional - i especially loved the balsamic ciabatta croutons.

Next for our mains! We'd both decided on the Rotolo of baby spinach, baked ricotta, sliced mushrooms, marjoram and lemon with nutty brown butter, crispy sage and Parmigiano Reggiano. Not exactly sure what a rotolo was but attracted by the ingredients - we both loved it!

One of the things I get really excited about when eating out is trying to figure out how to recreate a dish at home - this main, I would have no idea where to start!
I simply loved the crispy sage and soft parmesan butter sauce with the little pasta parcels of mushrooms, spinach and baked ricotta - it was all so yummy and delicate. I've actually been craving it since then!

fifteen melbourne

115 - 117 Collins Street, Melbourne
1300 799 415‎

After a little window shopping at DJs and Design A Space we headed for dessert at Lindt - not a big que, which moved quickly we were seated after a few minutes - but as a twosome we were seated at the dud, behind the counter bit nowhere near the apparently stunning ceiling - so make sure you get yourself in the main dining room.

We got the Volcanno mudcake, which was freaking amazing and a chocolate and custard eclair to share. Quite expensive considering the sizes but for the quality of the cake its worth it. I would have enjoyed it more though had we been in the main room! Picky picky jess...

Lindt Chocolate Cafe
271 Collins St, Melbourne

(03)9667 0900

Overall, a wonderful girls day out! Looking forward to tonight!

Zio's Italian East Melbourne

ZIO'S Italian Restaurat, East Melbourne

Cousin's gf seafood linguine

THE degustation plate!!!
With morton bay bug, smoked salmon, crab salad, an oyster, seered scallop, crumbed king prawn and lobster ravioli

My risotto - not as photogenic as I would have thought it would be with the saffron! I think I might have lucked out, in comparison to my fellow diners! I should learn never to order a risotto out... no matter how perfect the seafood is!

The cousin's lamb - he got in a bite before i had a chance to photograph!

My souffle - a bit of a wait but a light and fluffy dream pudding!

Zio's doesn't look like anything special from the front, but inside its' townhouse walls, a softly-lit white-table clothed dining room awaits.

14 Lansdowne St East Melbourne VIC 3002
(03) 9415 1224


Last night we went to Zio's in East Melbourne. A's parents have been going to Zio's quite a bit as it's a short walk from the flat.

The guy waiter is very funny and always recognises A and his mum when we walk in, which is always nice. We are also always seated at the same table - now that is old fashioned 'sopranos' style dining!

The first time A and I joined his parents for dinner at Zio's all four of us had the seafood degustation platter, it was wonderful, its always a treat to have well prepared and imaginative seafood. But after a couple of nasty experiences with seafood baskets elsewhere I decided to opt out of the degustation vote last night!

We started with bruschetta and marinated olives - both were delicate and fresh - I tried not to nibble too much though as I'd ordered the soup special, seafood chowder to start. The chowder was nice and creamy with lovely fresh mussels, prawns and scallops. There is nothing as disappointing as over cooked seafood (or undercooked) but the chowder was cooked wonderfully - i wasn't really a big fan of the red capsicum though, and might have fitted better as a main.

I ordered the saffron seafood risotto for my main, curious to see what it would be like - I think it's a good test of a kitchen if they cook seafood well in pastas and risottos.
The sister and I ordered a chocolate souffle each for dessert! Not quite sure how was I was going to fit everything in my tummy I was glad (at first) for the unexpected wait between courses. None of us were too fussed though and when our mains came everyone was happy!

In total we had three seafood degustation platters, two trios of duck, one 250g beef, one lamb, one seafood linguine and my saffron seafood risotto.

The duck eaters were both very happy, the uncle claiming it was the best duck he'd had in a long time. The cousin with the lamb said it was amazing, the three degustations were gobbled up with satisfaction and the cousin's gf adored her seafood linguine, very impressed was she with the morton bay bug on top! The linguine certainly looked yummy and photographed very well! The sister was starving so thankfully her steak satisfied!

The chocolate souffle was wonderful - what can be said about souffle really? Just look at the photo - well presented, deliciously fluffy and rich. My trick - I make a well and put the ice cream inside!

All in all, a very well enjoyed dinner - we were a little concerned with the wait between courses, but as we'd been to Zio's before and had no issue with the service, we weren't overly bothered. Because it is such a nice place to have a meal with family, eating isn't the sole reason for getting together. It's a nice and quiet place and the tables are a good size for conversation, it has a really comfortable atmosphere. I keep thinking though, they should move to a better location - somewhere in the city would be good, but I don't think the parentals would like that too much!

Have you been to Zio's - what did you think?

thankyou for the cupcake recipe!

So, I had a little dinner party last thursday night to celebrate TwinA's return to Australia (belated as with the move and all I've been slack and busy) so, taking advantage of my last week of non-teaching and non-frenching I made a tuna and corn lasagna and some dessert cupcakes.
I have to thank Agnes from off your spork for posting this recipe for vanilla cupcakes and for the pictures which 'inspired' my decoration.

Here is my recipe for tuna and corn lasagna as well:

Shopping trolley:

2 cobs corn
1 big tin of tuna
1 large jar tomoto cooking sauce (puree)
2 small onions, thinly diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable stock
sugar
assortment of fresh herbs (from cottage garden)
4 dried bay leaves
Fresh lasagne sheets
cheese
flour
butter
4 mushrooms sliced
celery
1 tomato sliced
parmesan cheese


Preparation.
In a large saucepan slowly fry half garlic and onion until soft and clear, being careful not to burn.
Add the corn off the cobs, mushrooms and sliced celery. Stir until the mushrooms and celery and cooked. Add tomato puree and vegie stock to even the consistency of the sauce. Add the bay leaves and simmer for 30 minutes, stiring occassionally.

Add the fresh chopped herbs and lots of pepper. Add the drained tuna and stir through de-clumping any big bits. Add 2 tsp of sugar and let sit for a further five minutes.

In a casserole dish layer lasagne sheets with the tuna sauce, starting with the sauce on the bottom. Make sure all of the lasagne is covered.

Finish off with a thick layer of bechamel sauce (with cheese) and sprinkle over parmesan cheese. Finish with slices of fresh tomato. Bake for 40 minutes or until goldenbrown on top and serve with salad!

It really was so yummy - the sugar helped to bring out the flavours in the tuna and corn and give the dish and warmer taste.

sorta food related

I just had to upload some pictures of my garden - those who've seen me lately have witnessed my gardening fanaticism with updated facebook photos and all!

I say sorta food related because we've planted some herbs as a border to the cottage garden. Although I don't have a photo of the garden before I started, it was initially completely bare. The whole process of planting has taken about a week of research and execution.

Notes:
I've tried to complimentary plant - herbs help keep away pests in general, as do the maragolds. The chives have been planted around the miniature rose bushes to keep aphids away. Ah clever... I've also been making concentrated black coffee to stray on and around the plants as apparently slugs hate it - not really sure how this is working. I've used two types of fertiliser - the little balls for long-term effectiveness and a seaweed fertiliser for immediate penetration. Eggshells are scattered to release nutrients into the garden, over the mulch - not sure but it looks effective!


Resources:

Burke's Backyard website link

Gardening Australia website link

mexican toastie

K and I have gotten into the habit of enjoying g&ts in the city during the week, usually at Hells Kitchen. On one of these particular evenings in early september, I came up with this dinner, disappointed that K couldn't join me for dindins. I like to call it the Toastie because of the use of a focaccia grill, but a regular saucepan will suffice!

Shopping trolley:

2 avocados, mashed
Pickled jalapeno peppers
sour cream
1 can of kidney beans
2 tomatoes, diced
4 button mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 small red capsicum, roughly chopped
cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
plain cornchips
lime
small can on corn
8 small flour tortillas
pre-made chunky salsa

...Best prepared over a cheeky gin and tonic (with lime of course!) and a big bowl of guacamole and chips!

Preparation.

Guacamole:
Clumsily mash the two avocados in a serving bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, chopped jalapenos, 1/2 a diced tomato and a little lime juice (from the g&t lime), mix up and dunk - half of this guac will be used in the toastie.

1. Kidney bean mix
- Fry diced onion, garlic, capsicum and mushrooms in a little oil until onion is clear and the capsicum is cooked through. Add drained kidney beans, stir to heat through and set aside in a bowl.

2. Salsa
In the same frypan fry corn on a hot temperature till the corn is sizzling and browning well, add chopped tomato and jalapeno peppers (to taste).

3. Spread half of the tortilla with guacamole, kidney bean mix, home-made salsa and cheese. Close the toastie so that you've got a half circle parcel. Cook in toastie machine or on stove until each side is golden brown and crunchy.

To serve, add a dollop of sour cream and salsa.

This is so yummy and pretty healthy really. Very little oil is used in the cooking process. Its nice and spicy and soft inside, while the crunchy tortilla adds a yummy texture.

So damn good and easy comfort food.

let us recap

(photos: beers and delicious fries, aoli and olives at Little Creatures)

Sorry readers - I have not posted in over a month, all I can do is try to explain, recap and hope to update more often.

It is not as if I haven't eaten well, because I have. In fact, I've been eating and drinking so well over the last month and a half that A and I have decided to join forces and compact the fat together!

In August, you could say I was 'between houses', a couple I know, recently relocated to Melbourne so I offered them my house for a few weeks promising I'd be fine staying at A's house. I was fine (mostly) and it was fine really, especially once A and I realised we were pretty damn good at living together. Thank god we came to this conclusion because we are now living together in Flemington! That's right people we had to move to an entirely new suburb to find some new food. (Side note: well actually, it's weird as I've discovered since leaving North Fitz, a few places I didn't know about - thanks jessho for trippy tacos - will be adventuring into the area again soon!)

So apart from the birthday in August, enjoyed at Dexters for breakfast, Little Creatures for lunch and Moroccan Soup Bar for dinner, August was the 'I'm between places right now' month. Followed immediately by September, the month of ' holly crap that was quick we've got a house and now have to move into said house!', which we did over the first and second weekend. My god moving house is exhausting isn't it?

First night in the new digs: beer and laksa king on the couch with prawn springrolls from Vy Vy... me thinks (I said to myself) I'm going to like flemington! Omg I mean I knew Laksa King was supposed to be amazing (lines onto Racecourse rd to get a table, other restaurants looking on in wonderment) but it really was. I had the seafood laksa on my first night in Flem' and it was amazing! They sure know how to do the laksa takeaway! The soup serves seperate from the vegies, noodles and seafood so nothing gets over cooked! The seafood was cooked to perfection as well, the prawns were yummy and juicy - not dry like in many laksas. A suggested we get the prawn spring rolls from Vy Vy, just a few doors away (apparently they're the best). They really were yummy and complimented my laksa perfectly. Oh what a night...

Hmm so apart from a lot of laksa (three of four friday night meals) I've ventured out for yummy Japanese in the city at Izakaya Chuji, a massive tapas style bar/restaurant with friendly service and delicious fresh food. The fried squid with mayo is to die for and the agadashi tofu is the best I've tried in Melbourne.

I've also been to Tiamo2 a couple of times, without a long wait outside, we sat down to a fastapasta - rather than indulging in my usual Don Giovanni I have been opting lately for the eggplant pasta without the meatballs - its so good, i want it right now!

So apart from some cooking adventures at home - I think that pretty much covers the last couple of months...



Moroccan Soup Bar
83 St Georges Rd Fitzroy North VIC 3068 - (03) 9482 4240
Open Tue-Sat 6pm-10pm

Dexters
123 Queens Parade Clifton Hill - (03) 9486 5192
Open all week till late (except mondays)

Little Creatures Dining Hall
222 Brunswick St
Fitzroy VIC 3065
(03) 9417 5500

Laksa King
320 Racecourse Rd Flemington - 9372 6383
Open from 11.30am-10pm all week.

Vy Vy
318 Racecourse Rd Flemington - 9372 1426
Open all week 11.30am-10.30 most nights.

Chuji Izakaya
165 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Open Mon-Sat till late
(03) 9663 8118

Tiamo
303 Lygon St, Carlton - (03) 9347 5759
Open early-late all week.